Author: -Dr.Rachanaa Datey
Founder Director QUEST EDUSTATION Trainings and Learning Solutions.
Certified Soft skills and Finance trainer, empaneled as SMART- SEBI, RP-NISM,ICFAI.
Email -mailtodr.rachanaa@gmail.com
In a competitive job market, candidates often find themselves competing with others who have almost the similar technical skills. In such cases, candidate’s resume, cover letter and interviewing skills can get him/her sailing successfully. However, being able to demonstrate strong soft skills could be what sets you apart from other candidates. If you’re in the market for a new job and you have strong soft skills, it’s time to show them off! The question now comes as to what soft skills should you focus on developing? And how can you cultivate them in your everyday work tasks? Finally, how can you demonstrate these skills when interviewing with companies? Key competencies are specific qualities that a company’s recruiters consider desirable for employees to possess. They’re often used as benchmarks to rate and evaluate candidates during the recruitment process, especially when reviewing application forms and at interview.
This article helps you find on what you should focus on when it comes to soft skills which ultimately help getting you a job. Demonstrating soft skills in the job search has never been a simple task, and with the current virtual nature of the world and the popularity of remote interviews, it’s harder than ever before. But it’s also more important than ever as employers seek candidates who can help their companies grow and evolve into the future. Demonstrate your commitment to learning and growing, practice getting your true personality across, and tell a story that goes beyond your resume to stand out.
But how? Unlike technical skills, soft skills are hard to measure, and it is very challenging to demonstrate on job applications. You need to go beyond the words on your resume to showcase your soft skills with the following strategies:
THE “S.T.A.R.” COMES TO THE RESCUE
A resume or even your LinkedIn page can’t convey soft skills. It is advised that a job seekers must be able enough to tell stories relating to their experiences which demonstrate how existing interpersonal expertise will transfer into their next role. I recommend my trainees to apply the “STAR” method when answering behavioural-based interview questions. This method confirm that they get the full scope of their soft skills across.
The approach which STAR method adopts is storytelling. It starts with discussing the context and confronts of a specific situation, the task or responsibility one held in the situation or in overcoming the challenge, the action they took to address the situation, and the results. This helps in highlighting how your soft skills, such as leadership, communication and teamwork, played an important role into overcoming a challenge resulting in a positive scenario. If you don’t have direct experience in the field you’re applying for, think of other situations or challenges may be a situation where you were volunteer, or even academic experiences that you needed interpersonal skills to overcome.
RECORD YOUR ANSWERS
It is very common that candidates get nervous, and they switch on the autopilot mode of answering each question as if they are reading a script. You need to make sure they you are saying the right things, and don’t ever appear unprofessional. Responding to questions in a scripted manner might make you seem harsher and more forced than how you’d usually respond to questions and interact with people naturally in the job environment.
To ensure employers get a feel for your real personality and communication style, I suggest creating an online portfolio. This includes video footage of candidate answering some common interview questions. The candidates can create their video pitches and can send them to the potential employers and even use it as a networking tool.
Recording yourself answering interview questions is also a great way to practice getting out of autopilot mode for interviews. Many things you might not notice in the moment, like facial expressions and hand gestures and body postures you can catch on video and even out to ensure that you make a lively and active connection with employer during an interview.
SHOW YOUR COMMITMENT FOR CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
Sometimes candidate might not be able to demonstrate soft skills on a resume, in such cases s/he can list the certificates or accreditations that displays their commitment to keeping those skills sharp. If employers are looking for candidates who can grow and evolve with the company, they’ll also appreciate seeing candidates’ appetite for learning and improving.
Even if you’re currently out of a job, you should work towards sharpening the skills and learning new things. There are numerous online programs and certifications that helps and elevates the skills conveniently and affordably.
User story-mapping is another skill one can learn online that establishes high interpersonal expertise. Managers and staff use this process to study, understand, define, and ultimately amplify the user experience for their products and services. It’s about understanding the customer, which requires a collaborative, communicative, and empathetic approach.
ENTHUSIASM, ATTITUDE AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS
I tell this to job seekers that, without being over-the-top in your job interview, a dose of enthusiasm and passion for the role can make them stand out from other candidates. It is critical to demonstrate to employers that you are astute right from the early stages of interviewing, and that you’ll carry the same enthusiasm through to the workplace if you’re the chosen applicant. Arriving early, actively asking questions during the interview and intently listening are all strong indicators that you’re a strong and enthusiastic applicant and display the right attitude towards the particular job opportunity.
Communication skill is essential in each role, in one way or another. Businesses value employees who can get their point across easily and diplomatically. Additionally, companies are looking for talent who can communicate clearly with stakeholders , other senior leaders and members of the team. Being able to confidently communicate your points during an interview impress the interviewer. To this add active listening and responding with well-prepared responses means you have strong abilities in engaging in two-way communication, not just one-way.
WORDS OF ADVICE
Soft skills are subjective – but that subjectivity is also what makes them so valuable. Like any skill, the way to acquire soft skills is to identify what you want to improve on. In an interview, beyond simply listing what soft skills you have (because every hiring manager has heard it before), use clear examples of situations in which you demonstrated that specific soft skill. In most job interviews, the interviewer will want to gauge your entire thought process, rather than just looking for the “right” answer.